LittleBigPlanet Karting is the epitome of a missed opportunity. All the right ingredients (LBP's grounding in customization, United Front's history with making good kart racers) were right but have all come together to make a wrong. Whether you are a fan of the franchise or not I would stay away from LittleBigPlanet Karting and gravitate more towards the plethora of better options out there (Sega All-Stars Racing Transformed, Mario Kart etc.). This poor use of a good license is unfortunately destined to finish in last place.

Be careful what you wish for. Everyone who wondered why ModNation Racers wasn't a LittleBigPlanet game to begin with, gets an answer. LittleBigPlanet Karting misses a lot of the elements present in ModNation Racers, a few of which are spunk, depth, well implemented social elements and well-built editors for karts and racers. Even the narration of Stephen Fry can't save this disaster.

When I heard the creators LittleBigPlanet and ModNationRacer were teaming together to make a kart racer, I was hyped. My expectation instantlyWhen I heard the creators LittleBigPlanet and ModNationRacer were teaming together to make a kart racer, I was hyped. My expectation instantly skyrocketed to the sky! Sad thing, however, is that these expectation weren't met. Don't get me wrong, LittleBigPlanet Karting is a good game, but if you buy this game thinking it's gonna be an upgrade from the ModNationRacer engine, like I was thinking, you're gonna be very disappointed.
The racing engine is simple. You get all your classic racing game accelerate/break/turn command. you can drift for better turns, go on rocket panel to get a brief boost of speed and collect item to send them to your opponent or protect yourself from the one they send to you. It's basic, too basic. There not enough variety in the weapon you can collect and, while the tracks are well decorated, they feel kind of empty. There's an occasional boost panel and weapons, that's it. After a while, it becomes boring. The problem with the depth of the racing engine in LittleBigPlanet Karting is that it's not even comparable to the one in ModNationRacer. There you had a nitro bar that you could build up by making drift or attacking your competitors and then use it for a shield or a speed boost. They also had several levels of items, which mean if you collected more you had better items, with a risk of losing it all if you get blasted. All in all, these little feature added a layer of strategy that is very rare to see in a racing game. LittleBigplanet Karting on the other hand decided to remove the nitro bar and leave the boost panel the job of speed boost and the job of the shield to items. Also, items don't level-up or stack, which eliminate a lot of options or choices a limit the strategy factor. You could say that they took a simpler approach to the engine, but to anyone who played ModNationRacer, this is a clear downgrade.
There is however a redeeming factor: customization. You can build your racing tracks, customize your karts behaviors and looks, dress-up your sackboy. But this is not something new, ModNaitonRacer also had a deep customization system. Both has their shortcoming and strength. My final comment is: Not a bad game at all, but it could be better. ModNationRacer Fanboys, stay away from this game. For others, rent it first, it might save you some dollars.…Full Review »

I was really skeptical about this game at first. I didn't think that it would have the look and feel of an authentic LBP game. Boy was II was really skeptical about this game at first. I didn't think that it would have the look and feel of an authentic LBP game. Boy was I wrong. The narration, music, and style is all authentic LBP. Once I played the beta that this game would deliver and it did.…Full Review »

this game is crazy. the editor is amazing- way more involved than mod nation racers or little big planet. you can build everything.this game is crazy. the editor is amazing- way more involved than mod nation racers or little big planet. you can build everything. everything that you can imagine! spaceships flown by dinosaurs! toasters that shoot popsicles! flying games! racing games! top-down games! whatever you want!…Full Review »